One great idea to follow another. Nothing could possibly go wrong.
Many years ago, the cane toad was introduced to North Queensland to predate upon and control the Cane Bole Beetle. The only problem that this plan had was that the toads do not eat the beetle, which lives high in the cane stalks, but eats everything it can catch terrestrially. Other frogs, small mammals, a range of insects and their larvae and small fish became the diets of these large toads, and they thrived and spread, until most of the Top end is now infested with them. As if their voracious appetite is not enough, they are also highly toxic to any animal which consumes them, causing high fatalities among birds, mammals, reptiles and fish which eat the toad, from spawn through to adulthood, all toads are poisonous, so even the tadpoles cause death. And they failed to control the bole beetle.
Then there was colissi virus released into rabbit populations. It was reasonably effective in short term after its "accidental" release into the wild in South Australia. Several releases later, of variable strains of the virus, has not only failed to bring the rabbit population under control, but has ensured the rise of a resistant breed of rabbit, as those who survive the outbreaks are the ones immune or resistant to the disease.
Now, in their infinite wisdom and knee jerk policy making, the Australian Government is assessing the release of a herpes type virus among the Carp populations in Australia.
The ACT government is considering a federal plan to release of a carp virus into Canberra waterways in 2019 - and has asked the public for feedback.
Environment Minister Mick Gentleman said carp were "Australia's worst introduced freshwater fish" and dominated the Murray-Darling Basin waterways.
"Carp muddy the water through their bottom-feeding behaviour, which has flow-on effects for plants, invertebrates, other fish, and bird life," Mr Gentleman said.
"Carp also affect all water users, including irrigators, local communities and those who use our waterways for recreation."
The Canberra release of the carp virus, cyprinid herpesvirus 3, is part of a national carp control plan to release the virus nationwide.
The carp virus was already used in 33 countries with no evidence of the carp or any fish virus causing disease in humans, Mr Gentleman said.
CSIRO scientists had researched and tested the virus over the past decade and were "very confident" it virus was specific to carp and would not cause disease in any other fish, animals or humans.
Mr Gentleman said the government had established a taskforce to consider specific risks in the ACT.
The government is holding a briefing for the public on February 19, one of 40 meetings being held in carp-affected areas in Victoria, NSW, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia.
Release of the virus would need commonwealth environmental approvals and approval from the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, as well as national agreements on implementation and funding. This would happen in late 2019.
"Release is also contingent on a comprehensive plan being in place for infecting the carp, the clean-up of dead fish," he said.
The virus damages the kidneys, skin and gills of carp. It multiplies for seven to 12 days after infection, killing fish within 24 hours of signs of illness developing.
The public briefing is at the Ainslie Football Club, February 19, 6-8pm.
Now, I have major concerns and some very grave doubts as to the effectiveness of this campaign.
Let us ignore for a moment the effect it would have on my own recreational fishing habits and focus on a bigger picture. What effect will it have on the environment and ecological balance of our waterways?
1/ First option. There has been no concerted effort to control these fish through manual cleanup measures. That should be the first base. Not a biological control agent which could have unintended consequences, such as cross over into other species.
2/ Dead fish, particularly if the disease is effective, will choke many waterways, not only causing unsightly and smelly mess, but creating a toxic environment within the waterways. As dead fish rot down in the water, they increase ammonia levels. Ammonia, NH4, breaks down to NO2, Nitrite, through the action of nitrosomonas and nitrobacter bacteria. Bacteria then further break down the nitrite to Nitrate NO3, which is utilised by algae and higher form plants to grow.
Ammonia is deadly to fish, as any aquarist can tell you. It attacks their slime coat and corrodes their gills, at the same time starving the fish of oxygen by attaching to the hemoglobin in the bloodstream, displacing oxygen which would normally be taken up. Nitrite is little better.
So, as all those dead fish break down in the pools, ponds, lakes and rivers, they will create a stinking, cloudy mess that will be a result of massive numbers of dead fish and which will make the environment unlivable for any species, native or introduced. It will also kill any turtles, shrimp and other crustacea, insect larvae and aquatic insects unfortunate enough to be trapped in the toxic soup of rotting carp. And I can guarantee, there will be no concerted clean up outside public areas. Out of sight, out of mind.
3/ The rise of The SuperCarp. - Any fish that survive the initial onslaught of the virus will be resistant to the disease, so new strains of disease will have to be developed, with no guarantee that one of these will not mutate further to infect all species. Particularly as in recent years, carp have become a mainstay in the diet of the Cod and other natives. Ingesting a diseased fish on a regular basis could have who only knows what consequence.
Note that the CSIRO scientist do not 100% guarantee that the disease will not be transmissible to other species, nor to humans, just that they are "very confident" it will not. Sorry guys, very confident does not cut the mustard in a case of life and death for our waterways.
4/ Eradication of carp leaves a gaping hole in the currently established ecosystem. Redfin Perch are the next most successful fish in our waterways, and are perhaps a bigger problem than carp as they are highly aggressive predators which hunt in packs as young fish and aggressively protect their "lurk" when bigger. These fish will outbreed and outcompete any of the native species to fill the vacuum left by the removal of the carp and eat or push out any natives.
5/ Eradication of food source. No carp, ever, has gotten so big that a large cod can't eat it.
6/ Cruelty. No-one seems to consider introducing a disease that causes ulcers and lesions on internal organs, attacking those organs until they breakdown, to be problematic? It is the cruelest description of a disease I have read in a while and I can see no way that animal rights and activist groups can be ok with this.
The idea that the removal of the carp is going to be the magic needed to restore our waterways whilst there is still cotton farming on the upper Darling River, irrigation for the fruit growers in the lower Murrumbidgee Irrigation Zone and other high impact industries operating on the waterways with little regulation as to what herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers are allowed to flow back into the system, is fallacious and ignores the real issues our waterways face. Human activity, habitat degradation and water mismanagement are more to blame than the carp. Collapsing river banks are more a fault of land clearance, and the willow removal program, than the activities of the fish. Muddy water ways likewise. Whilst I am never going to deny the carp play a role in exacerbating the already dire problems, they alone are not responsible.
This program is a disaster waiting to happen and I am totally against it. Until all other measures are explored, tried and worked with, I can see no rhyme nor reason to engage in such a potentially game ending program.
If, like me, you are opposed to the program PLEASE find out if and when there is an advisory meeting near you, attend and make your concerns known. I will definitely be going to the Canberra one. Though I doubt anyone will listen.
Despite the 